Sexual harassment does happen in the workplace, even though we might not be aware of this. Often sexual harassment is taking place in front of your eyes, but you might not be aware that it is in fact harassment. It’s also more common than we realise. It’s important to be able to recognise sexual harassment in the workplace, and also not to let it slide.

What Constitutes Sexual Harassment?

Sexual harassment is any kind of behaviour that makes you uncomfortable when it is impressed upon you by someone else. This could include:

Touching

Inappropriate sexual jokes

Unwelcome questions about your sexual orientation or sex life

Wolf-whistling

Cat-calling

Inappropriate gestures

Staring inappropriately

Emails or text messages that are suggestive or inappropriate

Often sexual jokes are so flippantly told that it doesn’t seem like sexual harassment. But if it makes you uncomfortable, then it’s not on and should not have a place in a professional environment. Even commenting on your body is harassment in some form if it’s done in a way that is lewd or crude.

What Can You Do About Sexual Harassment?

The first approach is to confront the person who is harassing you and to let them know that what they are doing or saying is inappropriate and it’s making you uncomfortable. If you don’t feel comfortable speaking to them, then you can involve someone you trust to do it for you, or you can send them an email detailing your feelings. Be sure to include what it is that they do that makes you uncomfortable so they know exactly what to stop doing. They might not realise the result of their actions.

If the abuser decides to ignore your plea, and continues to harass you, you can take it further in a formal way. Speak to your Human Resources Department and ask to lodge a formal grievance. The grievance should be issued to the abuser with specific timeframes and details about the sexual harassment that has taken place.

If your company decides to ignore your request to lodge a grievance or claims that they don’t have such a thing, you can take it further still.

In South Africa, we have something called the Labour Relations Act, which deals with sexual harassment in the workplace. Within the act is the Code of Good Practice on Sexual Harassment, which details that it is an inappropriate labour practice that you can ask your employer to deal with for you. If it is your employer who is harassing you, you can take it direct to the CCMA.